Post-impact control system

ABSTRACT

A control system in a vehicle includes a sensor and a control module. The sensor is programmed to detect an impact to the vehicle while the vehicle is in a key-off state and output an impact signal in response to detecting the impact. The control module is programmed to activate in response to the impact signal, receive a condition signal identifying a vehicle condition, and prevent at least one vehicle operation based at least in part on the condition signal.

BACKGROUND

Vehicles often operate in either a key-on or a key-off state. In thekey-on state, an engine or motor of the vehicle is running and suppliesfull power to any active vehicle system. In the key-off state, anoccupant has turned off the engine or motor, and a battery of thevehicle supplies power to select systems, such as a clock or a securityalarm. A vehicle may be equipped with impact sensors that operate whilethe vehicle is in the key-on state. The impact sensors are adapted todetect an impact to the vehicle. The impact sensors may be located atnumerous points in or on the vehicle. Some impact sensors arepost-contact sensors such as accelerometers, pressure sensors, andcontact switches; and pre-impact sensors such as radar, lidar, andvision-sensing systems. Vision systems include one or more cameras, CCDimage sensors, CMOS image sensors, etc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a post-impact control system in a vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of a sensor, wake-up circuit, and controlmodule in the post-impact control system.

FIG. 3 is a process flow diagram of an example process for responding toan impact to the vehicle in a key-off state.

FIG. 4 is a process flow diagram of an example process for setting animpact criterion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference to the Figures, wherein like numerals indicate like partsthroughout the several views, a control system 32 in a vehicle 30includes a sensor 34 and a control module 36. The sensor 34 isprogrammed to detect an impact to the vehicle 30 while the vehicle 30 isin a key-off state and output an impact signal in response to detectingthe impact. The control module 36 is programmed to activate in responseto the impact signal, receive a condition signal identifying a vehiclecondition, and prevent at least one vehicle operation based at least inpart on the condition signal.

The control system 32 can assess the condition of the vehicle 30independent of human judgment and when the vehicle 30 is in a key-offstate. The vehicle 30 may be autonomous and will next be driven withouta human driver. In that case, the control system 32 can still determinewhether the vehicle 30 is safe to operate without human decision-making.The control system 32 increases the safety of the vehicle 30 bypreventing operation of the vehicle 30 if the vehicle 30 has sustained acertain amount of damage from an impact. The control system 32 detectsan impact even when the vehicle 30 is in a key-off state and otherimpact sensors are not active. The control system 32 may prevent furtherdamage by preventing the vehicle 30 from starting when the vehicle 30has sustained damage.

The vehicle 30 may be an autonomous vehicle. A vehicle controller,sometimes referred to as the “virtual driver,” may be capable ofoperating the vehicle independently of the intervention of a humandriver, to a greater or a lesser degree. The vehicle controller may beprogrammed to operate the engine, braking system, steering, and/or othervehicle systems. The vehicle 30 may be in either a key-on or a key-offstate. In the key-on state, an engine or motor of the vehicle 30 isrunning and supplies full power to any active vehicle system. In thekey-off state, an occupant has turned off the engine or motor, and apower supply 66 not dependent on the engine or motor such as a batteryof the vehicle 30 supplies power to select systems, such as a clock or asecurity alarm.

With reference to FIG. 1, the sensor 34 is programmed to detect animpact to the vehicle 30 while the vehicle 30 is in the key-off stateand output an impact signal in response to detecting the impact. Thesensor 34 is electrically connected to the power supply 66 that isactive during the key-off state. The sensor 34 is thus “hot at alltimes” (HAAT). The sensor 34 is in communication with the control module36, either directly or indirectly through a wake-up circuit 38.

The sensor 34 is implemented via circuits, chips, or other electroniccomponents. The sensor 34 may be, for example, an accelerometer, anangular-rate sensor, a vibration detector, or a level indicator for afluid stored by the vehicle 30. The sensor 34 detects an impactindirectly through the results of the impact on some state of thevehicle 30, for example, linear or angular acceleration, vibrations, orsloshing or level change of a fluid stored in the vehicle 30. The aspectof the vehicle 30 detected by the sensor 34 generally should not changewhen the vehicle 30 is in the key-off state unless an impact occurs. Asan accelerometer, the sensor 34 may be, for example a three-dimensionallinear accelerometer such as piezo-electric or microelectromechanicalsystems (MEMS). As an angular-rate sensor, the sensor 30 may be, forexample, a three-dimensional gyroscope such as a rate, ring laser, orfiber-optic gyroscope. The sensor 34 may be a combined accelerometer andgyroscope. As a vibration sensor, the sensor 34 may be attached to,e.g., a radio antenna or another isolated position within the vehicle30. The sensor 34 may be, e.g., a piezoelectric accelerometer, avelocity sensor such as an electromagnetic linear velocity transducer, acapacitance or eddy current proximity probe, or a laser displacementsensor. The sensor 34 may be powered through solar power if positionedon an external component such as the radio antenna. As a level indicatorfor a fluid, the sensor 34 may be, for example, a fuel-level gauge,windshield-washer fluid gauge, an oil indicator, etc. The sensor 34 maydetect a sudden decrease in a fluid level while the vehicle 30 is in thekey-off state, or the sensor 34 may detect fluctuations in the fluidlevel such as those caused by sloshing.

With reference to FIG. 2, the wake-up circuit 38 is in communicationwith the sensor 34 and the control module 36. The wake-up circuit 38 mayinclude a high-pass filter 42 in communication with the sensor 34 and anoperational amplifier 40 in communication with the high-pass filter 42and the control module 36. The high-pass filter 42 may be connected to anoninverting input 44 of the operational amplifier 40. The controlmodule 36 may be connected to an output 48 of the operational amplifier40. The wake-up circuit 38 may include a latch chip 50 connected to theinverting input 46 of the operational amplifier 40 and to the controlmodule 36. A pull-up resistor 52 may be connected to the output 48 ofthe operational amplifier 40.

The wake-up circuit 38 may receive the impact signal and outputdifferent voltages based on whether the impact signal satisfies at leastone impact criterion. The impact criterion is a threshold value of thestate of the vehicle 30 detected by the sensor 34. Specifically, thesensor 34 generates the impact signal in response to an impact, and themagnitude of the impact signal correlates with the magnitude of theimpact. The sensor 34 sends the impact signal to the high-pass filter42. An impact signal from, for example, another vehicle hitting thevehicle 30 at 5 miles per hour may satisfy the impact criterion, and animpact signal from, for example, a shopping cart hitting the vehicle 30may fail to satisfy the impact criterion. The voltage of the output ofthe operational amplifier 40 is greater than zero when the impactcriterion is not satisfied and equal to zero when the impact criterionis satisfied. A zero-voltage output from the wake-up circuit 38 mayconstitute a wake-up signal to the control module 36.

With reference to FIG. 1, the power supply 66 may be active during thekey-off state of the vehicle 30 and electrically connected to the sensor34. The power supply 66 may be, for example, a vehicle battery.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the control module 36 is amicroprocessor-based controller. The control module 36 is implementedvia circuits, chips, or other electronic components. The control module36 may include a processor, memory, etc. The memory of the controlmodule 36 may include memory for storing instructions executable by theprocessor as well as for electronically storing data and/or databases.The control module 36 may be, for example, a powertrain control moduleand may be in communication with and may control systems of a powertrain54 of the vehicle 30, among other functions. The control module 36 mayreceive input and transmit output through a plurality of pins 56, forexample, eight pins 56. The output 48 of the operational amplifier 40may be connected to a wake-up input pin 58, which upon receiving asignal powers on the control module 36 if the control module 36 is in apowered-down state. The latch chip 50 of the wake-up circuit 38 may beconnected to a digital-analog output pin 60 of the control module 36.

The control system 32 may transmit signals through a communicationsnetwork 64 such as a controller area network (CAN) bus, Ethernet, LocalInterconnect Network (LIN), and/or by any other wired or wirelesscommunications network.

The powertrain 54 of the vehicle 30 includes a fuel pump, aninternal-combustion engine, a transmission, and if the vehicle 30 ishybrid-electric, an electric motor and a battery pack. The fuel pump maydraw fuel from a fuel tank to the engine. The battery pack is connectedto the electric motor. In a conventional powertrain, the engine isrotationally coupled to the transmission. In a hybrid powertrain, theelectric motor is coupled to the transmission and transmits rotationalkinetic energy to the transmission, and the engine may be coupled toeither the electric motor or to the transmission. The transmissiontransmits the kinetic energy from the electric motor and/or theinternal-combustion engine to a drive axle and ultimately to wheels ofthe vehicle 30, while applying a gear ratio allowing different tradeoffsbetween torque and rotational speed.

The control module 36 may be in communication with one or more systemsof the powertrain 54 of the vehicle 30, including the fuel pump, theengine, the transmission, the electric motor, and the battery pack. Thecontrol module 36 may be able to send instructions to the vehiclepowertrain systems. Specifically, the control module 36 may be able todeactivate one or more of the vehicle powertrain systems; for example,the control module 36 may be able to deactivate the fuel pump andprevent fuel from being drawn to the engine and thus prevent operationof the vehicle 30.

A user interface 62 may be in communication with the control module 36.The user interface 62 presents information to and receives informationfrom an occupant of the vehicle 30. The user interface 62 may belocated, e.g., on an instrument panel in a passenger cabin of thevehicle 30, or wherever may be readily seen by the occupant. The userinterface 62 may include components spread over multiple locations inthe passenger cabin. The user interface 62 may include dials, digitalreadouts, screens, speakers, and so on for providing information to theoccupant. The user interface 62 may include buttons, knobs, keypads,microphone, and so on for receiving information from the occupant.

A transmitter 68 may be in communication with the control module 36. Thetransmitter 68 may be adapted to transmit signals wirelessly through anysuitable wireless communication protocol, such as Bluetooth®, WiFi,802.11a/b/g, radio, etc. The transmitter 68 may be adapted tocommunicate with a remote server 70, that is, a server distinct andspaced from the vehicle 30. The remote server 70 may be located outsidethe vehicle 30. For example, the remote server 70 may be associated withother vehicles (e.g., V2V communications), infrastructure components(e.g., V2I communications), emergency responders, mobile devicesassociated with the owner of the vehicle 30, etc.

FIG. 3 is a process flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process 300for responding to an impact to the vehicle 30 in a key-off state. Theprocess 300 begins in a decision block 305, which determines whether anignition of the vehicle 30 is off. If the ignition is on, the process300 proceeds back to the start. If the ignition is off, the process 300proceeds to a decision block 310, which determines whether a gear of thevehicle 30 is in park. If the gear is not in park, the process 300proceeds back to the start. If the gear is in park, the process 300continues to a block 315. Together, the decision blocks 305, 310determine whether the vehicle 30 is in the key-off state.

If the vehicle 30 is in the key-off state, next, in the block 315, thesensor 34 is activated. In other words, the sensor 34 becomes ready todetect impacts to the vehicle 30.

Next, in a block 320, the sensor 34 is programmed to output an impactsignal to the wake-up circuit 38. The impact signal is dependent on thenature of an impact to the vehicle 30. For example, if the sensor 34 isan accelerometer or an angular-rate sensor, the impact signal may be apeak linear or angular acceleration experienced by the sensor 34. Foranother example, if the sensor 34 is a vibration detector, the impactsignal may be a peak voltage or current induced by a vibration. For athird example, if the sensor 34 is a level indicator for a fluid, theimpact signal may be a maximum difference between measurements over aperiod of time.

Next, in a decision block 325, the wake-up circuit 38 determines if theimpact to the vehicle 30 satisfies the at least one impact criterion. Inother words, the wake-up circuit 38 determines if the impact signal fromthe sensor 34 satisfies the impact criterion. If the impact does notsatisfy the impact criterion, the process 300 proceeds back to the block320, and the wake-up circuit 38 waits for the next impact signal.

If the impact satisfies the at least one impact criterion, next, in ablock 330, the wake-up circuit 38 outputs the wake-up signal to thecontrol module 36.

Next, in a block 335, the control module 36 receives the wake-up signalindicating an impact while the control module 36 is in a powered-downstate.

Next, in a block 340, the control module 36 activates in response to theimpact signal. Specifically, the wake-up signal arrives at the wake-upinput pin 58 of the control module 36, causing the control module 36 topower on from a powered-down state.

Next, in a block 345, the control module 36 prevents at least onevehicle operation. Preventing the at least one vehicle operation coulddisable the vehicle 30, so the vehicle 30 cannot drive until the vehicleoperation is no longer prevented by the control module 36. Preventingthe at least one vehicle operation may alternatively includedeactivating one or more vehicle components, such as a vehiclepowertrain system of the powertrain 54, for example, the fuel pump.Deactivating the fuel pump prevents fuel from being moved out of thefuel tank and into other areas of the vehicle 30.

Next, in a block 350, the control module 36 commands the transmitter 68to transmit a message to a remote server 70 soliciting a conditionsignal identifying a vehicle condition. The vehicle condition refers tothe extent of damage, if any, to the vehicle 30. For example, the remoteserver 70 may be a nearby vehicle equipped with cameras, and thepictures from the cameras may identify the vehicle condition. Foranother example, the remote server 70 may be a drone equipped with acamera and/or a hydrocarbon sensor sent by an emergency responder,towing company, or the like in response to the message soliciting thecondition signal. The drone may use its cameras to take picturesidentifying the vehicle condition and may use the hydrocarbon sensor todetect a fuel leak, thus identifying the vehicle condition. For a thirdexample, the remote server 70 may be a device of an emergency responder,and the emergency responder may report the vehicle condition into thedevice. The condition of the vehicle detected by the remote sensor 70includes, for example, the position of vehicle components relative toother vehicle components, such as a wheel relative to a body;deformations of body panels of the vehicle 30, broken windows of thevehicle 30, spilled fluids such as fuel from the vehicle 30, etc.

Next, in a block 355, the control module 36 receives the conditionsignal identifying the vehicle condition from the remote server 70. Foras long as the control module 36 does not receive the condition signalfrom any remote servers 70, the control module 36 continues to preventat least one vehicle operation as described above with respect to theblock 345.

Next, in a decision block 360, the control module 36 determines whetherthe vehicle 30 is in acceptable condition to drive based on thecondition signal. Whether the vehicle 30 is in acceptable condition maydepend on whether the vehicle 30 has avoided certain types or amounts ofdamage from the collision. For example, if one or more wheels of thevehicle 30 are askew rather than vertical, then the vehicle 30 is deemednot in acceptable condition. For another example, if intrusion ofcertain areas of the vehicle, such as a body panel above a fuel tank oran engine, exceeds a maximum distance, then the vehicle 30 is deemed notin acceptable condition. For a third example, if fuel is detectedoutside the vehicle 30, then the vehicle 30 is deemed not in acceptablecondition. If the vehicle 30 is not in acceptable condition to drive,the process 300 proceeds to a block 370 while the control module 36continues to prevent the at least one vehicle operation, as describedabove with respect to the block 345, based at least in part on thecondition signal.

If the vehicle 30 is in acceptable condition to drive, next, in a block365, the control module 36 reactivates the vehicle 30 by ceasing toprevent the at least one vehicle operation. The control module 36 maysend a signal to reactivate the at least one vehicle operation or stopsending a signal deactivating the at least one vehicle operation.

Next, or after the decision block 360 if the vehicle 30 is not incondition to drive, in the block 370, the control module 36 communicatesa message to an owner of the vehicle 30 about the impact. The messagemay identify the vehicle condition, including whether the vehicle 30 isoperational. For example, the control module 36 may query a database forthe owner of the vehicle 30 and a remote server 70 associated with theowner of the vehicle 30 and command the transmitter 68 to wirelesslytransmit a message to the remote server 70 associated with the owner ofthe vehicle 30 identifying the vehicle condition. For another example,the control module 36 may command the user interface 62 to display amessage based at least in part on the vehicle condition. The message onthe user interface 62 may be displayed immediately or upon a return ofthe owner or another person to the vehicle 30.

FIG. 4 is a process flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process 400for setting an impact criterion. The process 400 begins in a block 405,in which the control module 36 receives an input indicating the at leastone impact criterion. The input may be, for example, a value for theimpact criterion or a choice from among a set of preset levels, e.g.,low, medium, and high sensitivity. For example, if the vehicle 30 is acommercial truck, a user may set the impact criterion to low sensitivityto prevent false positives of impacts from shakes while loading thetruck.

Next, in a block 410, the control module 36 outputs a signal to thewake-up circuit 38 setting the at least one impact criterion.Specifically, the control module 36 outputs the signal from thedigital-analog output pin 60 to the latch chip 50 in the wake-up circuit38 setting a value within the latch chip 50. The at least one impactcriterion used by the wake-up circuit 38 is thus based at least in parton the signal received from the control module 36.

In general, the computing systems and/or devices described may employany of a number of computer operating systems, including, but by nomeans limited to, versions and/or varieties of the Ford Sync®application, AppLink/Smart Device Link middleware, the MicrosoftAutomotive® operating system, the Microsoft Windows® operating system,the Unix operating system (e.g., the Solaris® operating systemdistributed by Oracle Corporation of Redwood Shores, Calif.), the AIXUNIX operating system distributed by International Business Machines ofArmonk, N.Y., the Linux operating system, the Mac OSX and iOS operatingsystems distributed by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif., the BlackBerryOS distributed by Blackberry, Ltd. of Waterloo, Canada, and the Androidoperating system developed by Google, Inc. and the Open HandsetAlliance, or the QNX® CAR Platform for Infotainment offered by QNXSoftware Systems. Examples of computing devices include, withoutlimitation, an on-board vehicle computer, a computer workstation, aserver, a desktop, notebook, laptop, or handheld computer, or some othercomputing system and/or device.

Computing devices generally include computer-executable instructions,where the instructions may be executable by one or more computingdevices such as those listed above. Computer-executable instructions maybe compiled or interpreted from computer programs created using avariety of programming languages and/or technologies, including, withoutlimitation, and either alone or in combination, Java™, C, C++, VisualBasic, Java Script, Perl, etc. Some of these applications may becompiled and executed on a virtual machine, such as the Java VirtualMachine, the Dalvik virtual machine, or the like. In general, aprocessor (e.g., a microprocessor) receives instructions, e.g., from amemory, a computer-readable medium, etc., and executes theseinstructions, thereby performing one or more processes, including one ormore of the processes described herein. Such instructions and other datamay be stored and transmitted using a variety of computer-readablemedia.

A computer-readable medium (also referred to as a processor-readablemedium) includes any non-transitory (e.g., tangible) medium thatparticipates in providing data (e.g., instructions) that may be read bya computer (e.g., by a processor of a computer). Such a medium may takemany forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media andvolatile media. Non-volatile media may include, for example, optical ormagnetic disks and other persistent memory. Volatile media may include,for example, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), which typicallyconstitutes a main memory. Such instructions may be transmitted by oneor more transmission media, including coaxial cables, copper wire andfiber optics, including the wires that comprise a system bus coupled toa processor of a computer. Common forms of computer-readable mediainclude, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk,magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, DVD, any otheroptical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium withpatterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a FLASH-EEPROM, any othermemory chip or cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer canread.

Databases, data repositories or other data stores described herein mayinclude various kinds of mechanisms for storing, accessing, andretrieving various kinds of data, including a hierarchical database, aset of files in a file system, an application database in a proprietaryformat, a relational database management system (RDBMS), etc. Each suchdata store is generally included within a computing device employing acomputer operating system such as one of those mentioned above, and areaccessed via a network in any one or more of a variety of manners. Afile system may be accessible from a computer operating system, and mayinclude files stored in various formats. An RDBMS generally employs theStructured Query Language (SQL) in addition to a language for creating,storing, editing, and executing stored procedures, such as the PL/SQLlanguage mentioned above.

In some examples, system elements may be implemented ascomputer-readable instructions (e.g., software) on one or more computingdevices (e.g., servers, personal computers, etc.), stored on computerreadable media associated therewith (e.g., disks, memories, etc.). Acomputer program product may comprise such instructions stored oncomputer readable media for carrying out the functions described herein.

With regard to the processes, systems, methods, heuristics, etc.described herein, it should be understood that, although the steps ofsuch processes, etc. have been described as occurring according to acertain ordered sequence, such processes could be practiced with thedescribed steps performed in an order other than the order describedherein. It further should be understood that certain steps could beperformed simultaneously, that other steps could be added, or thatcertain steps described herein could be omitted. In other words, thedescriptions of processes herein are provided for the purpose ofillustrating certain embodiments, and should in no way be construed soas to limit the claims.

Accordingly, it is to be understood that the above description isintended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Many embodiments andapplications other than the examples provided would be apparent uponreading the above description. The scope should be determined, not withreference to the above description, but should instead be determinedwith reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope ofequivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is anticipated andintended that future developments will occur in the technologiesdiscussed herein, and that the disclosed systems and methods will beincorporated into such future embodiments. In sum, it should beunderstood that the application is capable of modification andvariation.

All terms used in the claims are intended to be given their ordinarymeanings as understood by those knowledgeable in the technologiesdescribed herein unless an explicit indication to the contrary is madeherein. In particular, use of the singular articles such as “a,” “the,”“said,” etc. should be read to recite one or more of the indicatedelements unless a claim recites an explicit limitation to the contrary.

The Abstract is provided to allow the reader to quickly ascertain thenature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with theunderstanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scopeor meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing DetailedDescription, it can be seen that various features are grouped togetherin various embodiments for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure.This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting anintention that the claimed embodiments require more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of asingle disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing onits own as a separately claimed subject matter.

The disclosure has been described in an illustrative manner, and it isto be understood that the terminology which has been used is intended tobe in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation. Manymodifications and variations of the present disclosure are possible inlight of the above teachings, and the disclosure may be practicedotherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system in a vehicle comprising: a sensorprogrammed to detect an impact to the vehicle while the vehicle is in akey-off state and output an impact signal in response to detecting theimpact; and a control module programmed to activate in response to theimpact signal, receive a condition signal identifying a vehiclecondition, and prevent at least one vehicle operation based at least inpart on the condition signal.
 2. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising a transmitter in communication with the control module. 3.The system of claim 2, wherein the control module is programmed tocommand the transmitter to transmit a message to a remote serversoliciting the condition signal.
 4. The system of claim 2, wherein thecontrol module is programmed to query a database for an owner of thevehicle and a remote server associated with the owner of the vehicle,and command the transmitter to transmit a message to the remote serverassociated with the owner of the vehicle identifying the vehiclecondition.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein preventing the at least onevehicle operation includes deactivating a vehicle powertrain system. 6.The system of claim 5, wherein the vehicle powertrain system is a fuelpump.
 7. The system of claim 1, further comprising a user interface incommunication with the control module, wherein the control module isprogrammed to command the user interface to display a message based atleast in part on the vehicle condition.
 8. The system of claim 1,wherein the sensor is at least one of an accelerometer, an angular-ratesensor, a vibration detector, and a level indicator for a fluid.
 9. Thesystem of claim 1, further comprising a wake-up circuit in communicationwith the sensor and the control module, wherein the sensor is programmedto output the impact signal to the wake-up circuit, and wherein thewake-up circuit determines if the impact to the vehicle satisfies atleast one impact criterion and outputs a wake-up signal to the controlmodule if the impact signal satisfies the at least one impact criterion.10. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one impact criterion isbased at least in part on a signal received from the control module. 11.The system of claim 10, wherein the control module is programmed toreceive an input indicating the at least one impact criterion and outputthe signal to the wake-up circuit setting the at least one impactcriterion.
 12. The system of claim 9, wherein the wake-up circuitincludes a high-pass filter in communication with the sensor and anoperational amplifier in communication with the high-pass filter and thecontrol module.
 13. The system of claim 1, further comprising a powersupply active during a key-off vehicle state and electrically connectedto the sensor.
 14. A control module comprising a processor and a memorystoring processor-executable instructions, wherein the processor isprogrammed to: while in a powered-down state, receive a wake-up signalindicating an impact; receive a condition signal identifying a vehiclecondition; and prevent at least one vehicle operation based at least inpart on the condition signal.
 15. The control module of claim 14,wherein the processor is further programmed to command a transmitter totransmit a message to a remote server soliciting the condition signal.16. The control module of claim 14, wherein the processor is furtherprogrammed to query a database for an owner of the vehicle and a remoteserver associated with the owner of the vehicle, and command atransmitter to transmit a message to the remote server associated withthe owner of the vehicle identifying the vehicle condition.
 17. Thecontrol module of claim 14, wherein preventing the at least one vehicleoperation includes deactivating a vehicle powertrain system.
 18. Thecontrol module of claim 17, wherein the vehicle powertrain system is afuel pump.
 19. The control module of claim 14, wherein the processor isfurther programmed to command the user interface to display a messagebased at least in part on the vehicle condition.
 20. The control moduleof claim 14, wherein the processor is further programmed to receive aninput indicating at least one impact criterion and output a signal to awake-up circuit in communication with the control module setting the atleast one impact criterion.